How to disable keyboard shortcuts and hotkeys on Windows 10

How do you solve such problems? It's easy - all you need to do is disable Windows hotkeys temporarily. Today's article will show you how to disable Windows shortcuts.

1. Disable Shortcuts Using Local Group Policy Editor

Local Group Policy Editor allows you to troubleshoot your PC or adjust system settings. Interestingly, you can also use this tool to enable or disable Windows taskbar settings.

But the problem is that you cannot access this tool on Windows Home devices. This tool is only available on Windows Pro, Enterprise and Education editions.

However, you can access Local Group Policy Editor on Windows Home by applying some tricks. But if that sounds complicated then you might want to move on to the next method.

Now, here's how to disable Windows shortcuts using Local Group Policy Editor:

1. Type Edit group policy in the Start menu search bar.
2. Right click on the best match and select Run as administrator .
3. Navigate to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > File Explorer .
4. Double-click the Turn off Windows Key Hotkeys option on the right side.

To disable hotkeys, select Enabled on the next screen. Finally, close the Local Group Policy Editor and reboot the device to save these changes.

And if you decide to re-enable the hotkeys, follow these steps:

1. Open the Local Group Policy Editor and navigate to the File Explorer option following the previous steps.
2. Double-click the Turn off Windows Key Hotkeys option and select Not Configured or Disabled .
3. Close the Local Group Policy Editor and restart the PC to save these changes.

2. Disable Keyboard Shortcuts Using Registry Editor

You can also turn off hotkeys by tweaking a few Register keys. But before you start, consider backing up the registry. That way, you'll be able to restore the tool if it crashes.

Here's how to disable keyboard shortcuts using Registry Editor:

1. Type Registry Editor into the Start menu search bar.
2. Right click on the best match and select Run as administrator .
3. Copy-paste the following command into the address bar and press Enter :

HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPolicies

From there, click the Explorer key. If not, create a key by right-clicking on the Policies key and selecting New > Key . Name this key Explorer.

When you're using the "Explorer" key, right click in the empty space to the right and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value . Next, name this value NoWinKeys and press Enter.

To disable hotkeys, double-click the NoWinKeys value and set the Value data to 1 . If not, set Value data to 0 (zero) to enable hotkeys. Finally, close Registry Editor and restart the device to save these changes.

3. Disable keyboard shortcuts using system settings (for certain hotkeys)

System settings can also help. However, this tool will only help you disable some specific Windows shortcuts. This includes hotkeys for Windows Narrator, Sticky Keys, Print Screen options, Filter Keys, Toggle Keys, and color filters.

Here's how to disable hotkey using system settings:

1. Type Allow the shortcut key to start Filter Keys in the Start menu search bar and select the best match.
2. Uncheck the box Allow the shortcut key to start Filter Keys to disable this option. (When this option is enabled, you must press and hold the right Shift key for about eight seconds to enable Filter Keys.)

Next, scroll up and find the Use Sticky Keys option . From there, uncheck the box Allow the shortcut key to start Sticky Keys to disable this option. (When this option is enabled, you must press the Shift key 5 times to turn Sticky Keys on or off.)

From there, scroll down to the Use Toggle Keys option . Next, uncheck the box Allow the shortcut key to start Toggle Keys  to disable this option. (When this option is enabled, you must press and hold the Num Lock key for about 5 seconds to enable Toggle Keys.)

Now, scroll down and find the Print Screen Shortcut option . Turn off the Use the PrtScn button to open screen snipping to disable this option.

Next, configure the color filter shortcut through the following steps:

1. Type Allow the shortcut key to turn color filters on or off in the Start menu search bar and select the best match.
2. Next, uncheck the box Allow the shortcut key to toggle filter on or off to disable this option. (If this option is enabled, you must press Win + Ctrl + C to turn the color filter on or off).

Next, let's see how you can disable keyboard shortcuts for Narrator preferences. Simply put, Narrator refers to a feature that describes what appears on your screen.

Here are the steps to disable the Narrator keyboard shortcut:

1. Type Allow the shortcut key to start Narrator in the Start menu search bar and select the best match.
2. Next, uncheck the box Allow the shortcut key to start Narrator to disable this option. (When this option is enabled, you must press Win + Ctrl + Enter to turn Narrator on or off).

Micah Soto

Update 25 August 2023